We’ve announced so many exciting speakers for the upcomingPMA 2015 Conferences, but we’re not done yet. The always compelling Ed Monahan of Kodak Alaris, and PMA favorite Dr. Glenn Omura, Associate Dean of MBA and Professional Programs at Michigan State University, will be presenting two of the keynote addresses at the PMA 2015 Conferences, January 4-5, 2015, at Bally’s Las Vegas.

Monahan will offer the PSPA/SPAA Conference closing general session, entitled Finding Your Place in the World of Digital Media and Consumption. Professional photographers face new levels of competition and challenge as consumers find their needs increasingly satisfied with digital photo consumption. Choices and purchases have moved to the web and mobile, and the industry is forced to adapt new products and services to compete. This presentation will lay out the influences most shaping consumer lifestyles and purchasing behavior, speak to the dimensions of memories from prints to publishing to digital media, and identify the elements deemed critical for the industry to capture both photos and consumer spend.

At the DIMA Conference closing general session, Engagement Crisis in the Age of Digital, Dr. Omura will discuss the

Dr. Glenn S. Omura

advantage retailers theoretically have over suppliers is their face-to-face interaction with consumers, which is the personal knowledge each has with many consumers who walk in the door. Specialty retailers who successfully create an emotional connection with their consumers during the face-to-face interaction will have loyalty, advocates for the store, and long term profitability. But even with this advantage, the age of digital has physically separated businesses from their consumers. Consumers are buying and ordering via PCs, tablets, and cell phones, and never meet a human representative. Businesses are trying to use Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and other social digital techniques and are measuring “engagement” by the number re-tweets, likes, or shares, but this isn’t really emotional engagement like we could have in the store when we are on a face-to-face basis. What should specialty retailers do to build engagement to deliver loyalty, advocacy and profits? Discover what many different kinds of businesses are doing to measure, and more importantly, successfully create consumer engagement.

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In January, during the PMA 2015 Conferences, Gabrielle Mullinax of Fullerton Photo became president of PMA – where in the past month, a new CEO has been installed and a new management company has been hired to help create fresh growth and opportunities for PMA and its members. In this episode of the PMA Podcast, [...]